The Left Behind
by Mechanism Unknown
Summary: Non-humorous parody of the story of the angsty, loner OC who is graciously welcomed by the Host Club... maybe. General weirdness.


**Title. **The Left Behind  
**Author. **Mech  
**Project Start.** 11/5/08  
**Applicable Genres. **General, angst  
**Rating. **K+  
**Warnings. **OCs; General weirdness – I fully expect people not to like it for its lack of substance  
**Parings. **N/A  
**Summary.** Non-humorous parody of the story of the angsty, loner OC who is graciously welcomed by the Host Club.  
**Inspiration. **All those cliché OC fics. Oh, yeah, and chapter 65.

Title is copied from **Retaw**'s story for Yu-Gi-Oh!.

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_Okay. Deep breath. It's just the Host Club, right?_

_Right._

She gathered up the piles of cloth and her courage and knocked on the door to the third music room.

"Ah, Fuji-chan! Welcome!" the exuberant blonde greeted, dwarfed by the pink door from behind which he peaked. After a light bow, she followed him inside, though leaving the skipping to him. The entire cast glanced up when she walked in, rendering the situation awkward enough for another bow, bleached-blond curls and black lace falling over her face.

"Punctual as always, Fujishima-san," the regal vice-president commented, pulling out a chair at one of the tables. "Please, have a seat."

"Thanks, but it's mostly just habit," she laughed nervously as she laid the stack of cloth on the table and accepted the seat. "If I'm late, it gives my brother more time to get into trouble." As she began color-coding the fabric swatches, the twins came up behind her to scrutinize them. Being less-than-helpful, they would periodically pick up one she had just set down and hold it up to the light.

"Not that it stops him from getting into plenty of trouble as it is," one of them said snidely.

Through her scoff she maintained upturned lips. "You're one to talk." The addressed twin grinned sheepishly.

"Although I'd say the direct act of 'getting into trouble' is more on Hikaru's end," added Haruhi – with no harmful intent on her end – as she brought their guest a cup of tea per Kyouya's order. As a consequence of her comment, the other twin put on an insulted face.

"Is not," he argued. "You should see the kinds of messes Akira gets himself into."

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For once, Haruhi was early in arriving to the Third Music Room, but even then she was apparently not the first one there. Standing in the middle of the arrangement of couches and coffee tables, a dark-haired boy she did not recognize was gazing around at his surroundings.

"Excuse me, can I help you?" she offered. "Are you... lost?" Whipping around at the voice, his mouth fell open in surprise at the unexpected visitor. That his school uniform, if as elaborate as that of Ouran, was not from a school of which Haruhi knew served to be only more confusing.

"Hi!" he greeted cheerfully. Although he couldn't have been more than a year or two apart in age from herself, his voice rang like a child's with his intonation. "Will you read to me?" Extending his hands and the book within them, he allowed her to read the title of something of middle school difficulty.

"I suppose..." she capitulated to that innocent, hopeful request and having little other choice in the awkward situation. After she set down her book bag, they climbed onto one of the couches as she took the book from his hands. "Why don't you read it by yourself?"

"I can't read," he replied, shaking his head though showing no signs of disappointment in the circumstance. "Sister said we're on page 48." She raised an eyebrow, but nevertheless turned to the indicated page and began reading from the top.

Approximately five or six pages later, the doors opened to reveal the missing club members, all of whom immediately gaped at the scene that hit them in surprise. Haruhi stopped in her reading. Before any of them could voice a concern, however, the mysterious boy shot up from his seat in excitement.

"Kaoru!" he exclaimed, grabbing said individual – much to his chagrin – and dragging him over to the couch where Haruhi still sat, frozen in bewilderment. "This nice boy's been reading to me. Here, let me show you." As he was guided into a seat, Kaoru tossed his twin a pleading glance.

"Hikaru..." he trailed off, but the other read him well enough.

"I'll give Miyako a call," he said, already taking out his cell phone. As the others stepped closer to a position of curious yet comfortable observation, Kyouya opened his notebook and immediately scribbled down some notes.

Gently taking his book back from Haruhi, the mysterious boy flipped back a few pages, only to begin reciting exactly what she had read to him a short while ago.

"I thought you said you couldn't read," she pointed out, not expecting the confusion that appeared on his face in return.

"I can't," he claimed innocently before turning back to the story.

"He's not reading," asserted Kaoru softly, pointing to the number at the corner of the page: 51. Although the unknown boy's gaze drifted over the paper at an even pace, his spoken words did not correlate with the ones written on the page. "He's repeating everything you said." True to explanation, once he reached the point at which they had been interrupted once more, he halted mid-sentence just as Haruhi had done.

"That's where we stopped," he finished. "What page are we on now?"

"Fifty-four," answered Haruhi, regardless of how the book was still turned to page 51.

"Thank you for reading to me."

"You're welcome..."

With a satisfied smile, he turned to the other on the sofa. "Will _you _read to me now, Kaoru?"

Scratching his head nervously, the redhead averted his gaze. "Well, I'd rather not..." he tried.

Fortunately, the boy was not dissuaded. "Okay. Will Hikaru read to me? Hikaru–" He stopped, glancing up to find the indicated twin coming back in the door, from which none of them (other than Kaoru) realized he had left, trailed by the girl from the other day, a mixture of concern and sternness on her face.

"Akira, what are you doing here?" she asked, half in reprimand, half in worry, kneeling down in front of him.

"Hi, sister!" he greeted, smiling. Patiently, as if speaking to a child, she repeated her question. "This nice boy's been reading to me. We're now on page 54." He proudly handed her the book.

She smiled, but only briefly. "That's great, but you know you're not supposed to leave school grounds by yourself. Why did you come here?"

As if ashamed, his gaze fell to the floor. "I... I wanted to see my friends again," he admitted sadly. "I haven't seen them in a long time."

"That's okay," she assured him, bringing his watering eyes up to meet hers once again. "Hikaru-kun and Kaoru-kun are coming to dad's party on Sunday. Right?" For confirmation, she turned to both of the twins in expectation of the affirmative. Although it was clearly out of reluctance, they nodded in unison. "You'll see them again on Sunday, all right?"

"Okay."

"Will you go back to school, then?"

"Okay; I'll go back. Will you come with me, sister?"

"Sorry, but I can't," she apologized in honesty. "I have my club meeting today. I promise to read to you later, though." Nodding, he accepted her outstretched hand; together, they prepared to leave. "Sorry for all the trouble, everyone."

"No trouble at all!" Tamaki assured her as the vice-president gave his own, more subdued version of the same sentiment, though with a hint of expected reimbursement.

"Bye, nice person!" said Akira, waving to Haruhi. "Bye, Kaoru!" He waved to the younger Hitachiin. "Bye, Hikaru!" He waved to the older one. "See you on Sunday!" Although their discomfort was clear from their faces, the twins nonetheless returned the friendly gesture. Soon enough, the other pair was out of sight, so they could relax once again.

"Liars," Haruhi accused them, cutting through the silence. "You said no one else could tell you apart." As clear as the situation had been, the twins still managed to look honestly confused.

"Oh, you mean Akira?" Kaoru started.

"He doesn't count," Hikaru finished nonchalantly.

"Why not?" she asked. They shrugged.

"Miyako and Akira are our next-door neighbors – we've known each other for a long time," answered Kaoru. Haruhi couldn't help but wonder if their version of "next-door" was anywhere close to her own. "It hasn't always been this way."

"You must have noticed – Akira's a bit... _off_," added Hikaru, shifting as if the stated circumstance rendered him nervous.

"Regardless of his disabilities," cut in Kyouya, shutting his notebook with finality, "I'd watch my words if I were you. As I'm sure you know, the Fujishimas are a significant name in the textile industry, and as such are likely quite valuable to your mother's profession."

"We're fine with Miyako. Akira's not going to inherit the company. He can't even manage himself, much less other people."

Kyouya shrugged, the glint on his glasses simultaneously retaining their warning and hiding his true opinion on his following statement. "He _is _the rightful heir, being the older of the two." Replaying the contrasting behaviors of the two individuals of interest in her head, Haruhi had a hard time believing the new insight.

"By only a minute or two," retorted Hikaru, ready to win an argument with the Shadow King.

"So are you," Kaoru pointed out, sliding closer to his twin. Taken aback by the seemingly unnecessary proclamation, Hikaru paused for a moment before replying in a gentler, softer tone.

"That's different. We're going to run the company together." As he brought his arm around Kaoru's shoulders, the others tried to hide their curious glances.


End file.
